The haze clouding Kaiden’s mind thinned the moment he saw the movement on the horizon. The confusion, the fragmented rage... gone.
What replaced it was focus. Pure, absolute focus. The demon’s head tilted a bit to the side as he stared toward the approaching swarm.
The girls yelped when his massive frame suddenly stirred, no longer standing still and motionless. "Kai?!" Luna blurted abruptly.
What remained of the destroyed house gave out under his weight as he began walking straight toward the incoming horde.
"Wait!" Aria’s voice begged as she lunged forward. "Kaiden! Stop! Please!"
"Master, don’t!" Bastet shouted in sync. Panic seeped into her tone.
But before either could rush after him, Luna’s arm caught Bastet across the chest, and Nyx’s hand gripped Aria’s wrist. "Let me go!" Bastet and Aria demanded.
The Storm and Space Valkyries exchanged a brief look. They understood each other.
"We must trust our Paragon of Sin," Luna said softly.
Nyx nodded. "Our man knows what he’s doing."
Bastet’s tail lashed, her ears pinned back. "Of course I trust him! But!"
Aria finished the thought. "I’m so worried my heart’s about to stop! Kai is in a vulnerable state of mind right now; he needs to be protected!"
Many onlookers wrinkled their brows as they heard these words. That towering demonic monster... vulnerable?
It felt as if the world itself was vulnerable in his oppressive presence.
Nyx’s lips curved into a small, breathy laugh as her eyes lingered on Kaiden’s broad, monstrous back. "Then let our eccentric man work his magic..."
The Great Demon of Wrath strode forward, relentless. The air around him pulsed with heat and invisible pressure, the kind that made even seasoned awakened take an involuntary step back.
The horde drew nearer. Dozens became hundreds as demons spilled across the landscape like a tide of living flame and darkness.
But what froze every witness wasn’t their number. It was their discipline. The monsters moved in formation, their snarls restrained, their steps unified.
And then, at the forefront, the leader emerged.
A woman - if such a being could be called that - towered above the rest. Her skin was the color of fire, red as if carved from burning stone. Horns arched back from her skull in elegant curves, appearing much smaller and delicate, graceful compared to the giant, threatening horns on Kaiden’s head.
Her horns framed a face both regal and cruel. Her golden eyes shone bright, and black armor hugged her body like a second skin. Her presence pressed on the observing humans, feeling oppressive, mighty, and absolute.
Behind her marched the strongest of the horde. These were towering demonic creatures clad in bone and iron, their eyes gleaming with malicious devotion. Even from a glance, it was obvious that they felt protective of the woman walking at the front.
Geralt’s jaw tightened as he watched the army advance. A curse came from under his breath.
"That must be the boss monster."
"The boss monster?!" Tessa shouted, eyes wide in disbelief. "That’s impossible! The boss should still be inside the dungeon, or at least deep in the wilderness! Our scouts reported no signs of its presence in the outer areas..."
The very idea that such a creature had appeared here, so far away from the boundaries of its domain, shocked her to her very core.
The monsters were freed from their restrictions when the dungeons broke a little over a week ago, yes. But they observed something interesting. Monsters tended to remain close to their dungeons when they did not sense the presence of humans.
In case they did, they would wander farther and farther away from their dungeons in search of human lives to snuff out. But if they did not - such as should be the case in this reservation where wilderness went on forever and ever - the monsters were expected to explore their vicinity and, after finding nothing, remain close to where they seemed to think ’home’ was.
It was a rather new finding that stood on flimsy legs, thanks to how new the tragic event was, but as Tessa said, they did scout for signs of the boss monsters. Their artifacts should’ve alerted them to the presence of such a mighty monster.
The aura it gave off should’ve made all the artifacts go off.
Then the realization struck her like lightning. Her breath hitched.
"The roar..." she whispered. "She rushed here because of that roar."
The others around her froze. The meaning was obvious. Kaiden’s transformation, his demonic challenge, had called out to something greater.
"Kai..." Aria whimpered. If the monster truly heard his roar of challenge and declaration of supremacy, she must’ve come here to answer his challenge!
Her yandere heart was blazing. She even sent Nyx quite the stinky side-eye as she resumed her struggling. She could not bear watching her man walk calmly toward his demise.
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him... She was just overcome with worry and protective instinct. She would much rather be chided for being a clingy girlfriend once the danger was averted than let him make a mistake.

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